The Dragon and the Rabbit
by CrimsonStainedDragon
Summary: A trip to find an Innocence leads to a lot of trouble with...everyone.Baka Usagi should've been more careful,but the others wouldn't have believed him.Meet the new exorcists.Warnings: random bouts of OOC-ness.Some language,OCs,major nstructive critisism is appreciated. Lavi&Jasdero-DevittoxOcs Please R&R, You don't have to, I just like advice.
1. Chapter 1

**I own nothing! This is a a story about DGM's fave rabbit and my "dragon". Please enjoy any attempts at humor and the poisonous cacti and the wolves. Can't have a good story with out wolves...and Dusk...you'll find out about that "mutt" latter.**

* * *

"So, this Innocence is in a mountian?" Asked the white-haired boy, looking at his friends.

"On a mountain, not in it Moyashi." The dark-haired samuri corrected, throwing on the usual insult. He was, to put it nicely, very annoyed. The reasons were pretty simple, and to some, understandable. For one, the train ride was taking forever, and he was stuck on said train with some very irritating people. He didn't know who was worse, but if he had to choose, it would be Bookman's apprentice, Lavi. The red haired teen had braided his ponytail while he was asleep. Again. To make matters worse, he couldn't get it undone. He wondered if it was glued in place.

"Yuu-chan! Do you want me to take that braid out?" Lavi asked, finally deciding to take notice of the other's struggles.

"First off, it's Kanda to you. And second...Get this braid undone now!" Kanda demanded. The other boy began to undo the braid as the others began their discussion.

"Is there anything that can give us a hint to find this Innocence?" This time a girl spoke up, asking the question. From his position a few feet away, Lavi chimed in.

"There is an old story about a magic crystal on the mountain. It's really small, but really powerful. They say the crystal defended the mountian from tresspassers. It turns red as a warning and if it 'chooses' you, it glows. Strange, right? Allen? Lenalee?" He smiled.

"Yeah..." Allen, the white-haired boy, sweatdropped at the vague response. That was not very helpful, but he had to admit it gave them an idea on what to look for. "That was...helpful. At least we can try to find this crystal now."

"Yeah, but I did hear from this one girl I met before getting on the train, that the mountain is full of poisonous plants and the animals that live there hunt down travelers. She also said there used to be a family that lived in the town. The mother turned into a monster after her second husband's death. She killed villagers and was stopped by her daughter, who had also become a monster...then fled to the mountains." Lavi said rather plainly, to busy getting the last of the braid undone.

"...Lavi...That's kind of creepy. Besides, you shouldn't listen to those stories from one girl you met,"The girl, Lenalee, said. Lavi continued on talking as if he hadn't heard her, to excited now to finish saying what he had heard.

"There's also some weird superstitions there! Like...if you've ever done anything wrong, you wear twine braclets and put on beads. One for everything you did wrong. Um...you can't have red wine in your house at night, white lilies are only grown on graves, you can't hurt crows unless they are white and the feathers are stuck in the ground in front of your door, and you can't wear black unless your going into the mountains, that way they don't have to waste time with an outfit for your funeral." Lavi explained, before adding cheerfully,"I guess we're good on that last superstition, huh?" Everyone just gave him a blank, but clear "Wtf" look. Looking at her watch, Lenalee cleared her throat.

"We should be at the station in a few minutes, guys." She stated, looking at all of her friends with a bright smile.

* * *

The train pulled into the station, and everyone began to gather their belongings. Everyone exited the train and looked around the station. There was an old wooden sign that said, 'Welcome to Hated City', with a sentence underneath that said 'The city cursed by God'. Lenalee laughed nervously after reading that and the temperature around the group seemed to drop.

"Hey, you Idjts. You from the black order?" A young man with blonde hair and a eyepatch huffed, pointing at the exorcists. A taller man stood next to him.

"That's not very nice." He huffed, tapping the shorter males head.

"AH, SHUDDUP, Ghosty! Now, answer the damn question!"

"Ah...y-yes?" Allen said, extremely confused. A girl walked by and stopped next to the group. She stared straight ahead, but spoke to them.

"He has respect for you. His usual greeting is 'You worthless shits, what the hell are you doin' in this shit hole of a town.' And if you don't answer right away he usually says, 'Answer me dammit or I'll throw your sorry asses in front of the next train'." And then she walked away, disappearing into the crowd.

"Peh. It's true. Though they damned this town themselves, dumbasses. God ain't real and never will be." He huffed, his arms going to rest behind his head.

"What do you mean by that? Are you an Atheist, or something?" Lavi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I believe in someone, But you ain't 'llowed to know. Now, get yer asses movin' to the inn 'fore I kick them all the way there!" He yelled, making them scramble towards the general direction of the inn.

* * *

Along the way, Allen and co. had learned that the two people who'd met them at the station were named Scar and Ghostman. Lavi had started a conversation with Ghostman about the superstitions and the girl that was last off the train. The other's silently followed Scar to the inn on the outskirts of the town.

"So Ghostman, is that girl a citizen here?" Lavi asked, trying to keep up with the taller man. "She was kind of weird, I didn't get a good look at her either. Is she pretty?" Ghostman stared at him before looking away, keeping a close eye on Scar as he held out a huge spider to Lenalee, who screamed and clung to Allen.

"She's a citizen on the mountain. And, sure, she's pretty. I just don't have time for people like her so I don't bother." He repiled, sighing.

"The mountain? Isn't it dangerous? I heard it's got all kinds of dangerous animals and poisonous plants. Why would she live up there?" He asked. He was sure that she was between his age and Allen's, so it seemed weird to him for some one that old to live up there. Then a thought occured to him. "Does she live alone?" Ghostman was silent, looking down at Lavi with his sunken eyes. Groaning in pain, he called out to Scar in a foreign language.

"Tardus descendit, scarus! Opus ad requiem!" Ghostman yelled, dropping to his knees. Scar had come over, sitting down in front of him.

"H-hey! Are you okay?" Lavi asked, trying to help Ghostman stand. Neither noticed the tall figure behind them with the knife, grinning demonically.

"L-lavi!" Allen managed to stutter, pointing behind his friend."G-ghostman..." Scar stood and reached behind him into a huge bag that Lenalee'd noticed, but didn't ask about. Scar pulled out a large flame thrower, his eyes narrowing.

"Innocentiae, eu! Infernus hyacintho starter!" Blue flames erupted from the barrel, going straight towards the figure.

"Hehehehe..." The figure, a young man with shaggy mahogany hair, laughed and lunged forward. He didn't reach his target, though, because of another man with fire red hair and a younger teen with strawberry blonde hair. Both latched onto him and held on tightly.

"D-Dammit! Deactivate! Deactivate, you fatass!" The red haired man yelled, pulling back his fist and punching his face. The man recovered from the hit and bit the other's shoulder. The teen started to cry.

"S-stop it big brother! They'll chase you away like they did with the nice dragon lady!" He cried, before bitting him. Ghostman was standing shakily with Lavi's help before breaking away and shoving him towards the others.

"S-Scar, I-I'll help them with him. Please get them to the inn." Ghostman said, shoving the younger male forward before turning to the three and shakily going to them. Scar looked at him before herding them in the general direction of the Inn.

"Sloth! Get on his back!" The red haired man yelled. The teen, Sloth, did as he was told and held on like his life depended on it. A few more punches to the head knocked the man out. Sloth got up and looked at the red head.

"He'll be okay now. Right Wrath?" He asked. "Gluttony will be fine. Right?"

"He'll be fine. I'm more worried that Greed is gonna die of a heart attack after hearing this. I'd be damned if he was free before the three of us. That bastard doesn't deserve death."

"Your swearing ruins all touching moments, big brother."

"I know." Ghostman stood, towering over them. The young man was from freaking Mongolia, so yeah, he was pretty tall.

"You guys could've gotten us into a lot of trouble with the Mistress. What on Earth were you thinking of doing?" He huffed, brushing some of his stray hair from his thin face.

"We had to stop Gluttony. That stupid Innoccence he swallowed when his girlfriend died took over again! He was after that red-haired kid, and I'm sure that the boy's friends didn't want to see him eaten alive." Wrath said throwing Gluttony over his shoulder and picking up Sloth, who had fallen asleep. "Those Exorcists are probably going to the mountain, the Earl wouldn't be happy to here that. Also, don't forget to let it 'slip' about the curse we have. All of us." And with that he leapt away. Ghostman stood there, silently watching Wrath leave with their brothers. He groaned in pain and sat down again. Huffing, he picked at some of the lint on his white wrap around. He wondered how Scar was doing with the Exorcists.

* * *

"Hey, Scar, what was the language you and Ghostman were speaking earlier?" Lavi asked, grinning. Scar narrowed his visible green eye at him.

"It's Latin. The dead language." He huffed, muttering "Fucktard" under his breath.

"Hey! Be nice! Don't talk about people under your breath!" A girl in a long blue dress with gold trimming said, smacking Scar with a tray. She then smiled and turned to them," I see your wearing black. Are you planning on going into the mountains? If so, I wish you luck and hope to see you again." Scar rubbed his head muttering upsetly.

"Yes," Allen replied, smiling, "We're going to look for an Innocence."The blonde tilted her head and looked at Scar.

"Isn't that what Wrath said Gluttony swallowed? You know, right after his beloved Conchita died?" She asked.

"No shit. The asshat HAD to swallow Conchita BECAUSE he was scared that someone else would get her." Scar sighed, putting on a helmet to protect himself before slipping into a suit of armor to protect everything else. Ghostman had come in, sniffling with tears falling from his leaf green eyes.

"Ghostman! What happened?" The blonde girl said, directing her attention to him. Another girl with green hair shoved the blonde aside.

"Move over Pride! What happened? Did some one hurt you?"

"Hey! Envy! The heck is wrong with you! I asked first!" The two girls started pushing each other and pulling at each other's hair. Ghostman watched with teary eyes before throwing himself onto Scar.

"B-Big brother... I-It was scary! O-On my way back I-I was a-a-attacked by some strange man! It was horrible! He had grayish skin a-and.." He then burst into another fit of tears. Everyone else but Lavi was shocked at the description.

"Wait, SCAR is the OLDER brother?" Lavi said, stuck in shock and awe. Everyone just stared at him like he was an idiot or something."What?"

"Ghostman, did you get a name?" Asked another girl, who walked down a flight of stairs in the old inn.

"Hey Lust!" Envy said. The tall male didn't answer immediately, actually having to think about it. He let himself fall bcakwards onto the floor so his body bent in a impossible way for someone like him. He looked at Lust with his dewy eyes.

"Mikk." he said, furrowing his eybrows as he slid his legs from beneath his body andplaced his feet next to his head. Pulling himself in a full circle, he stood up and pulled his wrap around closer to his shoulders.

"You should get some rest, okay? You guys too. The mountain's a dangerous place, not to mention the town's curse." Lust said.

"Oh! Who here knows about the town's superstitions?" Pride asked. Everyone pointed to Lavi. "Okay, can you take this outside and put it at the roadside in front of the house?" She handed him a basket of red wine. Lavi nodded and walked out the door.

"Wait!" Envy exclaimed. "If you hear a crow call as you reach the door, step in right foot first! Otherwise something bad will happen to you in the next couple of days." Lavi nodded and was about to head out when he was ambushed by Ghostman wrapping his wrap around his shoulders and head.

"White is a good color to wear at night here. It keeps the spirits of those who were deceased recently from you." He said, patting Lavi's head.

"This town has alot of pointless superstitions. Your not really gonna listen to them are you?" Kanda asked. Lavi just nodded.

"Also, take this." Pride handed him a bowl of something.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Hot sauce and sugar. There is a vampire nearby who loves sweet and spicy things. If you see him, put the bowl down and back away slowly." Lust explained. Lavi made a face at the combination and nodded. Ghostman pursed his lips like a mother (he looked even more so like a mother since his eyes were wide and dewy from crying earlier) and simply spun Lavi in a circle three times before giggling.

"That was to make sure you can stand your ground in case you get attacked. Now, off with you!" he said, pushing the red head towards the door.

Lavi walked out slowly, avoiding the white feathers in the ground and went to the road side. He set the wine down and turned around, coming face to face with a towering figure with red eyes. He gasped, but he still heard one of the girls say to put the bowl down. He did and slowly moved around the man, who had picked up the bowl. He backed away slowly from the large figure, the white hood almost slipping from his head. Reaching up slowly, he tightened it around his head and slowly went back to the inn, eyes never leaving the large figure's back. Once he was near the door to at the front of the inn, he raced inside, slamming the door shut and sinking to the floor.

"T-that was creepy..." Lavi said, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Allen approached the man called Scar.

"Are you sure that man wasn't an exorcist? Krory was mistaken for a vampire even though he's an exorcist." Allen said. Scar's only visible cold eye glared at Allen.

"That's none of my concern on how your friend was seen. But he is truly a mix of true vampiric blood. The other is actually known to me and my dear younger brother." He said, looking to Ghostman when he'd mentioned him. The tall mongolian was curled up on the floor, sleeping with his long black hair splayed about him. His long sleeved dress-like shirt also splayed about him, revealing the taut, form fitting pants he wore. He looked strange without his white wrap around tucked between his arms, giving him a girlish appearance. Kanda che'd t the sight of the male sleeping on the floor.

"How normal is that?" He muttered, glaring pointedly at the sleeping mongol. Scar raised an eyebrow.

"For your information, he's rather weak and gets stressed easily, resulting in him sleeping at random. It's not narcolepsy because he has to be sitting down first." He huffed. Lenalee tilted her head.

"You know, this is one strange town." Lenalee stated."Even the people are strange. There's strange superstitoins and...wait what do you mean about 'a mix of true vampiric blood'?"

"It means he's a half breed sweetie." A woman said appearing from a closed door. "And before you ask, I'm Banika Conchita."

"Half breed?" Everyone asked, confused.

"Mix of two seperate breeds." Came the sleepy mumble from Ghostman, who'd woken up and was sitting up slightly. "Good evening, Conchita-chan."

"Ghosty-kun! Have you seen my dear boyfriend? I haven't seen him in a while, I hope he's okay. I hope Ban didn't send him on a rampage again..." Conchita said, covering her mouth with her hand at the thought. She was a very pretty woman, long red hair and dark, almost black eyes. She even wore a fancy looking dress, also red, with gold trimming and emeralds sewn onto the front.

"Nn... wen' bi' crazy... Tri' keel... usa usa- hentai..." Ghostman mumbled, falling backwards with a loud THUNK and falling asleep again.

"Hmm...mother's cursed gift to me, the first and last...Poor Gluttony...I still remember his real name..."She said, biting her nails."Oh! Wrath and sloth probably got him! He's probably upstairs sleeping! And since I've gotta go check on him, I'll show you your rooms! C'mon kids!" With that she went up the stairs, pausing at the top and looking down at them with a smile. Scar ushered them all upstairs before turning to his borther and picking him up, sighing in annoyance. Why did he have to be so tall!

* * *

Lavi was watching Conchita. He'd heard that name before, but he didn't know where. It was really annoying him that he couldn't remember. Sitting up he looked around the room he was given. It was pretty nice, not what you would expect by looking at the outside of it. The walls were white, which he noticed a lot of things were, along with the table, the bed sheets, and the curtains. The rest was more of a cream color.

As much as he wished to fall asleep, there was too much on his mind. One was definately Conchita, then there was that girl at the trian station, the names of the people working at the inn, and especially the vampire. If he really was a vampire, then they could all be in trouble. That and he just got an overall bad feeling from being in the town. he then started to wonder why Scar and his friends seemed to avoid questions involving the town, or the mountain, or themselves. It was all too strange.

Realizing he wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon, Lavi decided to explore the inn a little. Walking down a dark hallway, he heard voices. A door was open a crack and the voices resonated from within it. Peeking through the slit, he could make the form of Ghostman out. He was talking into a red substance that looked suspiciously like blood. Upon closer inspection, there was a face in the red liquid.

"They arrived in town today?" It asked in a cracking, gravely, but feminine voice.

"Yes. I-I don't want them to get hurt though... I-I would like to leave early so to not be part of this..." Ghostman whimpered, obviously uncomfortable. There was an annoyed sigh.

"Enough of this, Ghostman, or should I say Johnathan Twist?" Lavi's eyes widened a fraction. The exorcist that had been killed by all those akuma? It couldn't be. He was going to figure this out, so he stayed put and listened. He heard Ghostman gasp at the name and shiver.

"P-Please don't call me that... bad memories... bad, bad memories." He muttered. The voice laughed cruely.

"Then be Ghostman, after all, Johnathan Twist is dead. Right? Or has these so called friends of yours, Master Drake and Ace, is it? Have they been filling your head with lies? That you CAN go back? That they WILL except you again? You should know that's a lie. It's as much of a lie as saying General Dusk is a murderous vampire, or that Renita didn't start the invasion that wiped out half the town and cost her two husbands, her life, and a daughter! All lies! You belong here with us." The voice said in what lavi believed was supposed to be a comforting tone.

Lavi decided he heard enough and backed away as quietly as he could. He couldn't think straight, was Ghostman really Jonathan Twist? All he knew about Twist was that he was a powerful Mongolian Exorcist that was killed by an Akuma swarm. Defending a town. In this very country. He'd heard about Twist being a very kind person who'd die for even the lowest of people, but at the same time being cruel towards those who were his enemies. He managed to find Allen's room and entered. Shaking Allen slightly, he heard the white haired boy groan.

"A-A-Allen...Allen..." Lavi said, sighing when he woke up.

"Lavi...? Wha...what is it? It's late..."

"Jonathan Twist..." Lavi managed. He was shaking so badly, he was sure Allen could feel it. "He...he's here...he's Ghostman...Allen, we have to get out of here..." Allen sat up, confused.

"But... he **_died_**, Lavi. In front of a whole **_town_**. How could he be alive?" Allen asked confused. Lavi shook his head, putting it in his hands.

"He was t-t-talking to someone... t-they called him Johnathan Twist... i-it's true.. the way he reacted... It's him." Lavi said, looking Allen straight in the eyes. "H-he acts the same way, Talks the same way, H-He looks the same way... He was also said to have recently recovered from narcolepsy..."

"That's Ghostman through and through." Conchita said, walking through the door with three men behind her. The two teens jumped and turned to look at her. Lavi paled and gulped, an ominous feeling tugging at him.

"B-Banika C-Conchita... T-The woman that can eat anything..." He whispered, staring fearfully at her. Conchita stared at them and sat on the bed between them, grinning.

"Well yes and no, I'm Conchita the second. My mother was first known as that, I carry on her legacy. I will admit I enjoy hearing my victims scream and cry and beg for mercy, but I am not entirely cold hearted. Tell me, since you are a Bookman, how my mother died?" She said, adressing Lavi.

Lavi gulped, looking at Allen. Allen was both scared and confused.

"S-She ate herself because she was still searching for the most gruesome food in the world..." He stated. Allen made a gagging sound, and muttered something along the lines of 'No matter how hungry I was, I'd never do that'. Lavi shivered as a thought occured to him. "Y-you...your going to...t-to eat us, aren't you."

"Of course not silly, although I am a cannibal that's only some of the time! And as much as I want to know what the flesh of an exorcist tastes like, I can't kill the people who're supposed to help Ghosty!" She said, a little to happily and trying to cover her mouth.

"H-help Ghostman?" Allen said, confused.

"I have a question. Who was he talking to in that wierd liquid and what was that liquid?" Lavi asked, kind of afraid to know the answer.

"Ahhhhhh...I dunno, we never got to talk to her and we don't think sloth should know what that liquid is, whatever it my be."

"Tomorrow, I'll wake you all up early. Get to the mountain and don't tell the others about this talk. The vampire named Dusk will lead you until the sun rises all the way up over the horizon. The mountain is a puzzle, you have to solve it. At the top, you will find a cottage, what you seek is there." The tall red haired man instructed, holding a young boy who had fallen asleep where he was standing.

* * *

Tardus descendit, scarus! Opus ad requiem!: Slow down, Scar! I need to rest! Latin.

Innocentiae, eu! Infernus hyacintho starter!: Innocence, activate! Hellfire blue starter! Latin


	2. Chapter 2

"Why are we out here so early in the morning?" Kanda asked, annoyed at being awoken at three a.m. Lavi just smiled at him.

"Yuu-chan, your always the one who tries to finish the missions right away. Why not get it over with?" Lavi asked innocently. He was still tired since the thought of being in the same building with a cannibal unnerved him and kept him awake all night. He looked at Allen. he looked tired as well, but that's because he'd kept him awake.

"Yeah, that woman, Conchita, I think, came to get me and told me that I was supposed to go to the mountain now." Lenalee said, raising an eyebrow. "Why?" Lavi just smiled.

"Were gonna finish the mission now. After all I really don't want to stay in this town any longer." He said before getting a thoughtful look. He grinned at Lenalee."Wait...you think? No wonder your single." Lenalee kicked Lavi in the gut and huffed, putting her hands on her hips.

"Funny, Lavi." She said sarcastically. Lavi clutched his stomach, and looked around.

"Hey Allen, shouldn't our guide be here?" Lavi asked looking around him again. Allen looked around as well realizing that Lavi was right. The vampire, Dusk, was supposed to meet them at the base of the mountain and lead them up until the sun rose.

"Yeah, he should've- LAVI! BEHIND YOU!" Allen yelled, his eyes widening. A pair of arms grabbed Lavi and pulled him into the shadows near them. Everyone turned towards the shadows, weapons drawn. Dusk walked out and dropped Lavi, who rolled onto his back and smiled.

"You our guide? It's nice to meet you Vampire-kun." Lavi said, looking up at Dusk. Everyone blinked and dropped their weapons (or whatever the hell the do) and looked at the tall man. He nodded.

"Th' name's Dusk." He said, before walking away. He stopped and looked back when they didn't follow. "Ya comin'?"

* * *

They were a good way up the mountain when Lavi decided to ask Dusk a few questions.

"Hey, Dusk, do you know anything about Johnathan twist?" He asked, smiling. Lenalee gasped and stared at Lavi increduously.

"Lavi, where did you hear his name?" She asked, awe written on her face. Lavi looked at her.

"Well...I heard Komui say something about him, so I bothered him until he told me." Lavi said, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like 'Blew up half the science department too...' before looking back at Dusk.

"...He's a friend...came here when Renita started an akuma swarm by releasin' th' crystals power. He saved mah life..."Dusk said."The least I can do is help him get home..." The exorcists nodded in understanding, but only Lavi said something.

"Didn't he get ripped to shreds by a swarm of Akuma protecting the town?" He asked, looking up at Dusk. Dusk looked at the ground, avoiding anyone's eyes.

"I-I thought so...but some one messed with th' forbidden arts and brought him back...I think..." The air around him seemed to get darker and heavier and he began walking with a slouch. Lavi patted his back.

"If it makes you feel better, I'm sorry I never got to meet him. He seems like the kind of person I'd like to meet." He said, smiling at Dusk. Dusk smiled widely, showing his fangs and nodding. He didn't say anything, but at least it wasn't so depressing.

Dusk stopped at a large clearing, the sun was rising and he smiled sadly, realizing how long they had been walking. He turned to them. "This is th' first puzzle, get up to that ledge." He pointed at the ledge that none of them would have been able to jump. Smoke was coming off his skin and clothes as he stood in the direct sunlight.

"Dusk-san? What's happening? Why are your clothes smoking like that?" Lenalee asked, obviously worried. She just recieved a kind smile before he disappeared into shadows.

"He's a vampire, right? So he can't stand in the sun." Allen said, smiling.

"Shut up, moyashi." Kanda snapped.

"C'mon Yuu-chaaan~! Lighten up! Besides, we've got a mountain to climb!" Lavi said, taking out his hammer and looking at the top of the ledge. He waved saying,"I'll check it out!" And then he was gone, landing on the ledge and looking around. There wasn't much to see except a lot of rocks and a few plants that looked like cacti, covered in sharp black spikes.

"LAVI! WHAT'S UP THERE!" Allen called to the redhead.

"ROCKS AND SOME WEIRD CACTUS THINGS!" He called back, looking over the edge. A branch snapped, not a twig, a branch as in big, thick, need an axe the size of a person type branch. A black wolf the size of a full grown horse glared at him, holding a huge spike in it's mouth. It charged swinging the spike, which appeared to have come from one of the cacti, and feigned a left hit, swinging upwards instead. It left a cut deep enough to draw blood, but not enough to be fatal. Lavi let out a cry of pain and fell down, clutching his side. Scooting backwards, he could barely hear the others yells from below.

Lavi hit the ground before the others could reach him. He looked up at the wolf, who returned the stare with a defensive stance. He laughed."Guys I figured out what the first puzzle is...Getting past the wolf."

"Lavi, you're hurt!" "No shit he's hurt." Looking up, the four exorcists saw Scar sitting in a tree, watching them.

"Scar! Why are you here?" Allen asked, shocked at his presence.

"Picking up my idiot."

"...Well while your doing that, can you help us? We need to get Lavi back into town an-" Lenalee said only to be cut off by Allen.

"No! We can't go back into town!" Allen said then quickly added," I'm sure none of us even remember the way back anyway! Even if we did I don't think we should move him. What if we make it worse."

"They won't be of much help in town." Scar said, looking up at the sky in annoyance.

"Oh? And why the hell is that?" kanda snapped.

"The only cure is with the girl at the top of the mountain. You get up there, she MAY help your friend." He huffed. Kanda glared at Scar.

"What are you talking about? Cure for what?" He hissed, glaring angrily at Scar. He was somewhat anxious at the silence that followed the questions. Sitting upright, Scar looked at them from his perch.

"What that wolf scratched the usagi with was a thorn from those cacti he saw. They hold a deadly toxin within them that can kill a person in seven days (a/n: Horror movie reference! :D) and THAT is one of the reasons no one really makes it up to the top alive." He explained.

"What!" Came the simutaneos response from all the Exorcists.

"You mean Lavi's gonna die!" Lenalee yelled at Scar.

"Baka usagi! This is your fault!" Kanda exclaimed pointing (dramatically) at Lavi.

"Don't yell at Lavi, Bakanda!"

"Shut up Moyashi!"

"Stop fighting!" Lenalee cried.

"Yeah...don't mind me guys, I'll just sit here and bleed..." Lavi mumbled. Scar jumped down and held out a bandage.

"Useless morons." He muttered.

* * *

Once everyone was calmed (not exactly) down, Scar sighed. Everyone looked at him.

"Hey, Scar, is there anyway to get up this mountain quicker?" Allen said in a low voice, because Lavi had fallen asleep. "If there is, please tell us, or at least give us a hint to help us get past." Scar was quiet before looking down.

"I honestly don't know." He sighed.

"So we just keep trying and hope we reach the top before he dies?" Allen asked quietly.

"Or we could leave him here with Scar, get to the top, and either convince this girl to give us the antidote or take it." Kanda suggested, glancing towards the sleeping Exorcist nervously. "Is there any chance that the poison could act faster? If there is, I don't know if we should risk running ahead."

"I might know someone who'd help us, but he's either at the top already or hiding in a garden." Scar said, looking at the exorcists. Allen and Lenalee nearly bowled him over in excitement.

"REALLY? WHO? TELL US, TELL US, TELL US!" They exclaimed. Kanda pulled them off of Scar.

"My... idiot... brother..." Scar said, looking away in embarrassment. Allen's mouth practicly hit the ground, Kanda raised an eyebrow, and Lenalee blinked.

"You mean-" Allen started, only to be cut off by Lenalee.

"Ghostman?" She gasped in shock at the thought of the feminine male being one of the few that could get up the mountain unscathed.

"How the hell can he make it all the way up there and we can't get past a wolf." Kanda asked. Scar groaned and shook his head.

"It's one of the great mysteries of Life and-" "HI BIG BROTHER!" They turned to see a very peppy, smily, Ghostman who looked like he was glowing. He stopped mid stride when Mugen was placed against his throat.

"How do we get up the mounta-" "UWAHHHH!" Ghostman had taken off screaming as Kanda stared to threaten him. They all blinked then rounded on Kanda.

"KANDA! YOU CAN'T JUST DO THAT!" Lenalee yelled. Kanda che'd and looked away.

"Ghostman!" Allen called," We need your help! Lavi's been poisoned by a cactus! Can you tell us how to get to the top of the mountain?" Ghostman popped out of seemingly nowhere (like Lavi) and blinked at them. He looked at Lavi before disappearing back into the bush He'd popped out of about three yards away from them. When they went over to investigate where he went, they heard a shuffling near Lavi and the rock side and turned to see Ghostman climbing with Lavi over his shoulder. Even better, he was shirtless and what made them wonder how he was doing it, was that he looked like he'd break in a matter of seconds.

"Ghostman what are you doing?" Lenalee asked, as a hole appeared in the rock side. He looked back with a blank face.

"Take that way. I'll get Usa-san up to the top of the mountain." He said, continuing his climb.

"I refuse." Said a feminine voice as a girl appeared in the passage." Ghosty get in here. If you don't come, then hand over that kid."

"Who are you?" Allen asked, pointing at her. She shrugged, not looking directly at anything. Ghostman did as he was told, kicking off the wall to arch his back and land in front of the passage. Lavi was barely awake enough to register what was going on around him.

"YOU! You're the one she warned us not to trust!" Scar said, pointing accusingly at the girl.

"Dear me, what a rude boy. I would think you would be more kind to the controller of this mountain. We wouldn't want you to get into some trouble. There will be no negotiations with anyone." She looked directly at the remaining exorcists.

"What are you going to do to Lavi!" Lenalee demanded. She just smiled warily.

"You'll see...but I can promise everything will be fine." She looked up before the passage closed and smiled at the wolf. "I relieve you of your duties for today. I caught you a nice big buck. My thanks to you, Amarok." They watched, Ghostman looking back down at them before walking off further into the mountain.

* * *

"Tyki. Why did the Earl send four of us on this mission? We could have retrieved the Innocence by now!" Said a dark haired boy, pointing to himself and a boy with long blonde hair. Tyki looked at the two of them and let out an annoyed sigh.

"Safety in numbers. Also, Ghostman is there." He frowned at the mention of the Mongol. When they'd first met, he'd mistaken him for a woman then he'd yelled that he was getting raped by a 40 year old creeper.

"That and the Innocence appears to have a host, which granted said host power over all things in nature." A girl with spiked hair said. A nod from Jasdero and Devit along with a happy "Hii~" from Jasdero.

"So we are being sent to meet an Exorcist with that ability. The Earl just said to find her, not kill her and take her Innocence. I wonder why." Tyki said, more to himself than the others. Road looked at him curiously before realizing how weird their mission was. After all, they were usually sent to kill Exorcists.

"Just remember, this person's not alone. There is some one else living on the mountain with them." Road told everyone.

"Yeah, whatever." Devitto said, rolling his eyes at Road. Jasdero laughed. "Well, if the host controls nature, or whatever it is you said, then we'd better be careful. I'd hate to see Tyki done in by a tree or something." Devitto added with smirk.

"Oh, you would just LOVE that, huh?" Tyki snapped, glaring at him.

"Keep your voices down. How do you think Ghost would feel if his 40 year old creeper was nearby?" Tyki whipped around to see Scar, standing there, with his arms behind his head. Huffing, Tyki looked at him with annoyance. The rest of the group turned to look at him.

"Scar, what are you doing here? Are you here to tell us something?" Road asked tilting her head slightly. Scar looked at her with his visible serpentine eye.

"Be careful. And trust me, it's gonna be hard getting up there. Ghostman's on the defense. I think Johnathan's memories are tangling in his head, so I'd be wary when you get up there." Scar sighed, shrugging. They nodded and continued on their way.

* * *

"Hey Ghosty, how have you been? What's new in town?" Asked the girl as she sat by a boiling pot in her cottage kitchen. It was a nice place, with a wood burning stove and open fireplace. Counters lined the walls, except for where the doors were, two led to adjacent rooms and one led to a pantry. Ghostman looked shocked, then depressed. A young woman with long hair and the akuma virus sat next to him, staring. The pentacles on the side of her face shone a bit.

"There were exorcists there. Why can't **I **be an exorcist?" He muttered, distressed.

"D-don't w-w-worry, I-I'm sure you c-could be i-if you have an i-innocence." The woman with the akuma virus said, trying to cheer him up.

"Ghostman, we promised you we'd help you become an Exorcist. I never break a promise. And Ace, I know that sounds corny so please don't point it out." The girl smiled, looking up from her work. "Oh and I almost forgot. How's that boy? I feel bad leaving him to suffer while I make more antidote, but you can blame my stupidity and clumsiness for being out..." Ace sat upright and her face flushed.

"I-I-I cleaned the w-wound, b-b-but I had to s-strip him o-of his shirt to d-do so. H-He has nice abs..." Ace muttered the last part to herself, her face flushing worse. Ghostman caught what she'd said and stared open mouthed at her.

"Woah, pervert alert!" He said, moving his chair away from the woman. Ace looked like she was going to cry when he said that. Ghostman got smacked by the other girl, and covered his head.

"Who's yo daddy now bitch? Apologize!" She pointed at him as she yelled and then got a confused look."...wait did I just really say that? Also I'm sure your right about that Ace-chan." Ace did burst into tears at the comment from the other girl.

"I-I-I J-JUST C-COULDN'T H-HELP MYSELFF! I-I'M SO SOOOOOORRRRRYYYYY!" She cried, bashing her head repeatedly off the table.

"WOAH! CALM DOWN I MEANT IT IN A GOOD WAY! I SWEAR I DID! I KNOW MAH RIGHTS AND COMFORTING FRIENDS IS ONE! IF YOU STOP CRYING YOU CAN DRAG 'MASTER DRAKE' INTO TOWN AGAIN TO BUY WHATEVA YA WANT!" The other girl cried frantically waving her arm around, while using the other to stir. Ace's waterworks slowed and finally stopped, but her face was still a faint red and her eyes were dewy, giving her a princess like look. Ghostman blinked, looking at Ace rather confusedly.

"I'm sorry I said anything." He said, looking her over.

"Have you guys ever noticed how our conversations get so off topic? It's, like, one minute we talk about the weather, the next we talk about how weasles kill things larger than themselves...I think that's the weirdest analogy I've ever said..." She smacked her face and pretended to fall to the ground. Ace, of course not being able to differentiate faking and the real thing, ran over to her worriedly.

"I'm fine Ace-chan, so are you excited for tomorrow? Shopping! Yay! But first, the antidote's done. Wanna come with?" She asked, looking at Ace before whispering," Ya can show me what you mean by 'he has nice abs'. I don't get ta see a lot of guys after all..." Ace's face flared but she nodded.

"O-okay. I-I'll show you.." Ace said, blushing. Ghostman made a face.

"Ewww... you two are talking about girly things like checking out guys." He said immaturely making a gagging noise. Turning to face him, the other smiled demonicly.

"Don't pretend you don't check out guys..." Then she followed Ace up the stairs to the room where they left the poisoned kid. Once in the room, ace looked at the other girl before pulling up the shirt she'd replaced Lavi's with to reveal his abs. She looked away embarrasedly. Ace recieved a smile.

"Okay, so let's wake him up and make him take his medicine. Okay?" She smiled at Ace and started gently shaking him. Ace had hurriedly pulled down the shirt, which seemed to make Lavi's eyes flutter. Ace screamed and flew about a foot into the air and back into the wall. Lavi's eyes opened and he looked at her, shocked. He looked at her, how her face was flushed, her golden hair shimmered (though the three strange ahoge like things on her head seemed to glow more), and how her blue eyes were wide. Then he saw her breasts and almost got a nosebleed. Keyword being almost.

"Hi there! I'm Ryuu, that girl there is my friend Ace. You've been poisoned by Dragon's Bane so we brought you here til you recover. Here's the antidote." Ryuu said nervously waving her hands in front of his face. Lavi blinked.

"What's dragon's bane?" He asked, slightly confused. He looked over at Ace. "What's wrong with her?"

"Well...it's a type of poisonous cactus. They are very strange. You'll die in seven days if you don't get an antidote. Also, don't worry about Ace-chan, she's like that. She's not very used to new people..." Ryuu said with a smile, glancing at her panicing friend. Ace was holding her breath like if she dared breathe, she'd be killed. "...Ace-chan, you know he can't hurt you in his condition, right?"

"Um...Where am I...? I'm not back at the inn..." Lavi asked looking around the room before realizing something."Where's my friends?"

"At the top of the mountain you and your friends were trying to climb before you got poisioned and did you know you have hot abs?" Ace blurted out in one breath before blushing and running from the room in tears. Lavi stared after her, a look of pure confusion on his face. Ryuu giggled, which earned her a blank look.

"Sorry, but that look you just had was funny. Anyway, take the antidote and drink it." She said, handing him a glass full of purple liquid. "Now I have to go get Ace-chan, we're going into town. We'll be back before dark. Try to rest up a bit." Smiling, she patted his head and left the room. Lavi looked at the liquid suspiciously before downing it in one gulp.

"Ew..." His face cringed slightly at the taste.

* * *

"Ace-chan, Ryuu's waiting for you." Ghostman called, walking around. Ace was already standing out in the yard.

"And remember, Ace-chan..."Ryuu called from the door, putting on the top hat and mask with a smile."Call me Master Drake."

* * *

Hope ya like this!


	3. Chapter 3

Kanda glared at the cliff. He had been trying to climb it for the past three hours since Lavi was...kidnapped? He wasn't sure if it counted as kidnapping since Lavi was 18 and they knew where he was. Shaking his head he focused on the cliff, trying to get up it was hard. It was a vertical standing wall of rock shaved smooth, not a rock in sight that he could grab onto. He had tried tying a vine to Mugen, and throwing it up to the top, but the sword ended up nearly impaling it's master. Sighing, he tried to think of another way up, using their Innocence was out of the question. Lenalee tried, but was unable to reach the top and Allen tried to swing to the top using his hand.

Suddenly, Kanda got an idea (not one most Allen fangirls would approve of, unless they were Yullen fans and decided it was tough love). He looked to where said耠short stack was eating some berries. "Moyashi."

"It's Allen." He responded, annoyed, "And what, BaKanda?"

"Che...Don't call me That. I thought of a way to get to the top." Kanda said, trying to burn a hole through Allen's head.

"Really? What is it?" The other asked curiously.

"Come here and I'll tell you." So Allen did and the moment he was within arm's length of the samuri, he had a vine tied around his waist and was lifted off the ground by the collar of his jacket. Without hesitation, Kanda launched Allen towards the top of the cliff, shouting,"Grab the ledge Moyashi!" Allen was busy screaming in fear of slamming into the wall of rock, which he did, because Ace was standing there. He'd hit her square in the breasts, clung to her for safety, and drug her back down with him.

Kanda's eyes widened as he realized his current position and became a landing pad before he had the chance to even move. The three groaned in pain. "ACE-CHAN!" Ryuu cried in a deeper, more masculine voice to fit her disguise. She jumped down and landed on her feet next to the pile of human and helped Ace to her feet. Lenalee, who was smart enough to stay away from the wall during Kanda's little stunt, came to investigate the newcomers. She was suprised to see a teenaged boy(A.K.A. Ryuu as Master Drake) dressed in a knee-length black overcoat, a red dress shirt, black pants, and a black top hat. There was also the girl, who she assumed was the rich-looking boy's maid. Ace looked dazed.

"Why is the earth spinning?" She asked childishly, looking around with owlish eyes. The 'boy' smiled nervously, it was the only thing visible because of the mask that covered the upper half of 'his' face.

"Are you dizzy Ace-chan? Are you hurt?" Ryuu asked her friend.

"My boobies hurt..." She whined, clinging to him. The hair she'd had covering the Akuma Virus on the side of her face had moved, revealing it. Lenalee gasped when she saw it, and Allen got a look that screamed pity. Kanda looked at it before looking at Drake.

"Sir, you were attacked by an akuma?" Kanda asked carefully, not wanting him to freak out. Ace blinked before touching the pentacles on her face. She blushed in embarrassment and she looked like she was gonna cry.

"Ace-chan, don't worry about what they say. You're safe now. Let's go." He said, smiling. "Ah, your attempts to make it up the cliff were funny, especially that last one. Well, until Ace-chan got dragged down. Think outside the box a bit more and you'll make it up. It's so simple anyway, I don't know how you missed it." The blonde haired woman was fretting over hair and managed to cover the side of her face, her eyes dewy as she did so.

"What are you talking about? There's an easier way up?" Allen asked, recieving a nod.

"Look to the skies." Drake told them before leading Ace away.

"Like they have to grab a birdie?" Ace asked, tilting her head in confusion. Drake shook his head, smiling.

"No, no. They have to use the vines, like monkeys." He said to her, looking at the vines that seemed to have just appeared.

"Hee hee. Monkeys." Ace giggled, smiling into her hands happily at the thought of the cute little creatures.

* * *

"Man! This is going to take forever!" Devitto complained loudly. Jasdero just grinned.

"You know, we could just ask the akuma that's been following us to fly us to the top! Hii~!" Jasdero exclaimed happily, pointing his gun towards some bushes. "C'mon out and we won't hurt ya!" The akuma obeyed. It was in it's human form, a young woman with short blue hair stood before them.

"Hello, I'm Talisman. I am actually a male soul, and happy to be an akuma even when I was brought back to life by my wife." It said.

"Gay." Devitto stated, smirking. Talisman glared at him.

"Sixth seal: Silence." He said as he pulled out a small, rectangular slip of paper and slapped it across Devitto's mouth. As much as he tried to pry the paper off, it wouldn't budge. Tyki and Road had just gotten over the fact that Jasdero noticed something they didn't and watched Devitto in amusement.

"HII! DEBI!" Jasdero cried, trying to pry the seal off with his brother.

"It won't come off until I take it off. In my life I was a man who made protective charms they were to ward off evil. And now I am the Charm Master Talisman. I have all kinds of seals at my disposal!" It smiled."My air seals can take us right to the top, not too quickly, but quick enough." Scar looked at Talisman blankly then his eye flinched to the side. A large whip-like tendril had lashed out, barely missing the twins since he knocked them out of the way with a elbow. As fast as it had come, it retreated.

Talisman jumped back. "What are you doing! I'm helping them!" It exclaimed. "If you wanna fight fine! First seal: Shadow storm!" The shadows around Scar swiftly darted at him.

"THE HELL? I WAS MOVING THEM!" He yelled, slicing at them with an innocence. This time, two more of the tendrils came flying, slamming Tyki into the ground then disappearing again. Tyki groaned in pain at the gashes he'd recieved.

'_Innocence?'_ Scar thought, his eyes tracking the movement.

"Heh, sorry. I'm a kill/maim first, ask questions later kinda person. Third seal: Bind!" Three similar charms were placed on trees, sending out thin wires that wrapped around two of the tendrils. "Is this Innocence?" Talisman asked. The tendrils were currently pulling back against the bonds. Getting closer, Scar looked at them. He poked one, feeling the softer than silk innocence.

"Innocence, moon style: Supersonic." The tendrils started glowing, illuminating the path back to who the owner of said innocence was. They were attached to Something.

'_Or someone.' _Scar thought, squinting back further. A foot immediately collided with his face (Though it gave a rather outstanding up -skirt view for the rest of the males!) and stumbled backwards.

"Good job. Innocence activate: Draco Infernous." A dragon of fire darted past a stunned Tyki, who had the best view up the girl's skirt, and a hi fiving Jasdero and Devitto, cutting the wires. The other two tendrils joined, flowing about the young woman.

"Time to kick this up a few knotches." The girl said, throwing herself into the air in an arch to avoid a slash from scar, doing a backflip and landing. She lashed out with tendril like things, snapping at the ground near his feet with one while the others went toward the stunned Tyki and The twins. Jasdevi (this is how I refer to them both) shot the tendril that came their way.

"Wait! Ace-chan!" Said another, putting a clawed hand on Ace's shoulder. Master Drake stood behind her. Ace quickly recoiled the whip-like piece of hair, examining the damage. She began chuckling psychotically.

"Oh, you do NOT know what you just did. Y-You hurt my hair. M-my p-poor h-h-hair. M-Master Draaakkeee! T-t-they h-hurt m-my h-h-hair!" Ace cried, clinging to Ryuu.

"I saw Ace-chan, I'll kick their asses in a minute. First I want to know why they're hear?" Ryuu said. Ace shot them an evil look from her place in her friends arm, portraying their death in that stare. Road spoke up.

"The Millenium Earl just said to find the Exorcist girl that lived on the mountain. There was no actual reason given." She explained calmly.

"Probably negotiations..." Ryuu said.

"I neg- negated someone before! They asked me why I'm the way I am, and I said "Sometimes when the darkness washes over me, all I see is blood, death, and destruction as well as the dark abyss of my soul!" and that's why I love you all and you're my best friends, yay!" She exclaimed. The looks she got were ones of confusion, suprise, and horror from Talisman.

"Uh...negotiate...not negate...They probably want to talk and make a deal with us..." Ryuu said. Road looked at her confused, since the disguise still made Ryuu look like a boy.

"You're a boy, unless you know the girl we're looking for get out of our way." Road said. Ryuu smiled and bowed to Road.

"Miss," Ryuu took off the hat and stood up. "My name is Ryuu, I live on the top of this mountain. If you would like to negotiate anything with us we may consider it, but you must make it up to the top where my cottage is. You may have to out do a group of Exorcists, though. Now, I've got to take Ace to town, so have a good day." Ace pouted but sent a glare at them.

"If they get up the mountain, can I kill them and burn their bodies?" Ace asked, smiling.

"...Even WE wouldn't do that to you." Tyki said, horrified.

"It's fun to be dark sometimes, YAY!" And with that, Ace drug Ryuu down the mountain, talking about how she's going to kill them. Ryuu happily responded saying things about torturing first and only if they decide to attack. The Noah and Talisman watched as the pair left, Ryuu wearing her disguise again.

"Great, there's gonna be Exorcists there too! And they're crazy! Why us!" Devitto exclaimed smacking himself in the face. Scar slapped him in the face multiple times.

"You listen up, and you listen up good, you retard. THOSE TWO are NORMAL compared to MY brother. Save your energy or may god help you find your eternal rest because I will not hesitate to beat the living SHIT out of you. UNDERSTOOD?" Scar barked angrily. Everyone nodded except for Talisman, who was looking after the to girls. A smile spread across...it's...his? His face.

"My baby girl's so big now! Not to mention she's got her mother's figure...I should know, I've got Rena-chan's form as an Akuma..." Talisman said, more to himself. He had a dreamy look on his face and one could almost see the flowers popping up around him. Scar sent him a blank look then it turned into the face people get when the see Excalibur. (a/n: from Soul Eater)

"Yeah... sure... Tyki, why are you muttering?" He siad, raising an eyebrow.

"I didn't even get to get that hot servant girls number! But now I know where she lives! I wonder if she'll go out with me?" Tyki said, sounding like a teenage girl. Everyone put some distance between Talisman and Tyki as the continued up the mountain. They managed to get to where the Exorcists were and hid.

"So, we just climb the trees? Why didn't we think of that before?" Allen said, looking at the vines hanging from the trees."And then we just swing across to the ledge using the vines."

"Che. And it took us THIS long to figure it out." Kanda fumed, annoyed.

"You guys, this is supposed to be a puzzle, but it's more like a test." Lenalee said thoughtfully.

"A...Test?" Allen and Kanda looked at her confused.

"Yeah, I mean, when was the last time you had to rely on survival skills that weren't in battle? Normally for missions, we ride trains to our destination, we sleep in inns, we buy food when nessessary, but here there are no trains, no inns, and no stores. The mountain is supposed to teach you how to survive." Lenalee told them.

"Che. I suppose that means we can't use our Innocence then?" Kanda growled.

"Lavi did, and he got hurt. Now that I think about it, if that wolf wanted to kill him it would have." Allen stated.

"It didn't want us dead, it was enforcing the rules of a survival game. By using his Innocence, Lavi broke the rules and recieved a penalty, so to speak." Lenalee added.

"Game? I guess that's one way to think of it." Allen spoke just loud enough for the others to hear, even though it was more to himself. He grabbed onto one of the vines and gave a tug. The vine proved to be sturdy, so he wrapped it around his wrist and began climbing a tree. He reached a large branch, from there he could see the top of the cliff. Unwrapping the vine, he pulled on it again, just to be sure it was safe, and swung across. He let go at the last moment, and slammed into the ground on top of the cliff. "It's not that hard." He called down. He barely ducked as Kanda came up, going right over his head, although he wasn't so lucky when it was Lenalee's turn. She landed right on him.

"Well, that was fun!" Lenalee exclaimed grinning broadly.

"L-lenalee...Please get off me..." Allen said, more like begged. She looked down and immediately jumped up.

"I'm so sorry Allen-kun!" She said, helping him up.

"It's okay."He smiled at her.

"Che. Let's just get moving." Kanda said, pointing to the path that Ace and Drake appeared from. They kept their innocences deactivated the entire time.

"What do you guys think is at the top?" Allen asked, smiling.

"Well, I'm not sure. Snow? Maybe the Innocence is in a cave near the top." Lenalee said, a thoughtful look on her face. "Well there might be that girl, and Lavi will be there! Oh and he'll be okay and have the Innocence and Ghostman will fall asleep standing up!" Allen and Lenalee laughed at the thought of the simple minded male falling asleep on his feet. Allen seemed a little off on the topic.

"Umm... Lenalee, what did that Jonathan guy look like, anyway?" He asked. Lenalee got a confused look.

"Johnathan? Do you mean Johnathan Twist?" Allen nodded, and Kanda froze. The two were now facing Lenalee.

"Well, wehn I first met him, he was rather... womanly. They'd actually had to make his uniform in a woman's size, he was so thin. He was also tall, and when I met him, I kinda took to him like a mother figure. If he wasn't on a mission, he could be found doing things like household chores. He washed the entire orders clothes in just under four hours before. Kanda did the same, and we'd both just follow him around all day. He didn't mind, and instead he was an interesting person. He did have shockingly bright green eyes and his hair was longer than Kanda. Then he got the mission he didn't come back from." Lenalee explained, a small smile gracing her lips as she thought about the motherly man. "He even let us call him 'Mother' even though we knew he was a guy."

"What mission? Wait a minute...Kanda used to follow him around too?" Allen asked, suprise obvious before a taunting smile formed. "Was he like you mom too? Did you call him mother Kanda?"

"SHUT UP MOYASHI!"Kanda yelled pointing Mugen in his face.

"IT'S ALLEN, BAKANDA! GET IT RIGHT!" Lenalee stepped between them.

"Now, now if you fight we won't reach the top!"

"Sorry Lenalee."

"Che." Kanda huffed, looking away with a light blush dusting his face. "Believe it or not, Lavi had refered to him as 'Mother' as well. As did Daisya and Noise."

"Pracitcally everyone did." Lenalee added, smiling at the memory as they continued walking.

"So what happened to him?" Allen asked. Both Lenalee and Kanda looked away.

"When he was on the mission, he'd use his golem to say goodnight to us and sometimes sing a lullaby he knew from when he was little. He did that every night, just so that we'd know he was okay. Then one night, he didn't contact us. Brother said he might've been busy at the time and couldn't. When his mission was supposed to be over, Kanda and I sat on the steps in front of the order waiting for him. He didn't come. The cycle repeated until we finally asked brother. He looked saddened, and before he could tell us, the two other people who'd been on the mssion with him came." Lenalee took a deep breath to calm herself. "Their names were Allinesis and Lea. We immediately jumped them, begging them to tell us if Jhonathan was with them. Allinesis told us to hold out our hands. We did and he placed two little crystal cases. There was a clear liquid in it. I-it was-"

"It was a keepsake from Jhonathan. Lea told us that he'd asked them to prepare a Lacrimosa and the next day... he was torn to shreds protecting a town. They said that when they found his hed, there were still fresh tears running down his cheeks, so they collected them into the Lacrimosa's as his last wish." Kanda finished.

"T-that's horrible! And it was here wasn't it? I heard it was from an Akuma swarm, but they don't usually do that unless they're after a powerful Innocence." Allen was quiet for a minute before speaking again."Back at the inn, Lavi woke me up in the middle of the night. He said he heard Ghostman talking to some one and that person called him Johnathan Twist..." Lenalee and Kanda looked at each other with wide eyes.

"T-they called him J-Jhonathan?" Lenalee said, her eyes wide with small tears.

"Yeah." Allen said, looking at his friends.

"Let's get to the top of this moutain." Kanda said, determination written on his features.

* * *

Lavi decided to explore his surroundings a bit. He went downstairs to see an insanely clean house. He heard a sweet song floating from another room.

"_Silentium et sola, in paulo lupus ululatibus (silent and lonely, the little wolf howls)_

_Desiderans luna (longing for the moon)_

_Idli et wiftly lyncis movet, (Idli the lynx moves)_

_Sequens woodpeckers canticum (Following the woodpeckers song)" _

Peeking his head into the room, Lavi noticed Ghostman sitting there, folding some freshly cleaned laundry. He was singing in Latin, yet the song was familiar. Suddenly he wondered what Ghostman was doing there in the first place.

"Uh...Ah, Ghostman?" Lavi asked, making his way across the room to sit next to Ghostman, with difficulty. He guessed it was because he still wasn't recovered from the poison. The mongol looked at him with his dull green eyes. He smiled gently.

"Lavi? Is something the matter?" he asked, noticing the diffuculty. "Does it hurt?" Ghostman tilted his head and his eyes flashed a beautiful, bright, green. Lavi immediately made a connection with the faces of Jhonathan and Ghostman. The only true difference was that his hair wasn't pulled up into a tight bun and held with a Lotus blossom. Instead of mentioning it, he nodded and let Ghostman help him.

"I was wondering, what are you doing up here? And with a couple of hot girls too. How do you know each other?" He asked, smiling. Ghostman looked down, sadness present on the man's face.

"Ace, I met her when she moved into the town. Ryuu... is complicated... Lavi, you are to be a bookman, yes?" Lavi was taken aback by the sudden question.

"Y-yeah?" He stuttered. Ghostman let out a sigh. His face became a much more familiar one, large electric green eyes shone at his face, and Ghostman pulled out a hair tie, tieing the hair up into a tight bun.

"Who..." He looked at Lavi with wide eyes and a posture that showed he was being serious, "Am I?" The large electric eyes showed things like stories of what they'd seen. A beautiful smile rested upon Ghostman's face.

"Jhonathan..." Lavi stared at him. "Your missing the lotus...wait...what happened to you. You...died." Lavi had trouble saying the last word, but still managed. Jhonathan's face fell.

"Dead Raiser. I just wanted to come back to the order, see all of your smiling faces again... I didn't want to become a pet... She said I could.. Then I was sealed off and she forced another soul called Ghostman into me..." The Mongolian man said, placing his face in his hands.

"No one called you back? I mean, your not an Akuma? I thought that was the only way people could come back. And if there's another soul, how are you even Jhonathan?" Lavi questioned. He was extremely confused at the moment. Jhonathan looked at him with a dewy eye.

"Dormancy. One soul can go dormant for a limited amount of time. Mine is weaker, so it's mostly hidden. And there is another way. Dead Raiser was once a noah, but then she discovered she had the ability to revive people and made her own family. She has servants that take the souls of the deceased that were murdered and gives some to the earl. I actually think that would've been better. Beneath this shirt, I'm covered in stitches, still healing due to me being a crystal type exorcist. Dead Raiser collected the many pieces of me that had been thrown around, stitching them together." He explained, sniffling. He looked at Lavi then pursed his lips.

"W-what?" The stunned redhead asked.

"I think you may be taller than me." He said, pouting.

"...heh...Can I ask you a few more things?" Lavi asked, looking up at the Mongolian.

"You already asked another, a few more couldn't hurt." Jhonathan said.

"What do you mean by Ryuu is complicated? Like, how you met her? Or is it just Ryuu in general?" He asked, the blue haired girl had caught his interest, he just didn't know why. Ace was also interesting, but she was a little more predictable. At least that's what he thought.

"Ahh... well... when we met, I'd been walking through a train and we ended up meeting like that. I forget most of it though..." Jhonathan laughed sweetly. Lavi stared at the ground before looking back up at the other.

"Who is Renita? And that swarm that...you know...why here?" Lavi asked, he was still a little shaken by what he'd learned.

"Renita. She's the reason I died. She had two husbands. She could bear losing the first one, but the second one, she made a deal with the Earl."

"Huh? Is that all...what did she do?" Lavi asked. He was curious and he wanted to know what happened then."Did it have to do with an Innocence fragment? That's why we came here."

"Yes." Jhonathan stood up and simply walked outside. Lavi followed him and he noticed how he was upset. This was the man who'd been the most motherly figure right next to jerry. "Lavi... I have a request." The red head perked up, looking at him. Jhonathan turned to him so the sunlight he was standing in illuminated his pale skin and dark hair.

"What is it?" Lavi asked worriedly. Jhonathan closed his eyes as a single tear escaped down his cheeks.

"Save me."


	4. Chapter 4

The three remaining Exorcists, and trailing Noah, had reached yet another obstacle, a river, wide and deep with a current that would surely sweep them away. As if that wasn't bad enough, the trees...yes, the trees...attacked them. All along the bank, trees of all kinds stood, lashing out at anyone who tried to get close to the bank. The opposite bank was completely clear, though.

"ARRRGHHH! How the HELL are supposed to get to the other FUCKING side!" Kanda screamed, annoyed.

"Quit acting like a woman." Lenalee said, looking at him. The Noah watched in amusment from their hidding place. They planned to let the Exorcists figure it out for them, but seeing how it was going, it wasn't likely that they'd get across.

"They won't get across, this was a trap set by Ryuu. Renita designed, Ryuu made it real. There's only one way across. Noah-sama's, follow me." All of a sudden Talisman leapt form his hidding place and landed near the group. Scar groaned before putting on a cloak and a mask.

"What are you doing?" Tyki asked, looking at him.

"Hiding who I am, they know me." He replied following Talisman. Deciding they would have found out about them either way, they followed Talisman. Allen's eye activated and he looked to Talisman, eyes wide at the soul in the Akuma. The soul covered in binding seals that spread away from it, surrounded by a purple aura, was smiling a genuinely happy smile as it laughed. Not a normal Akuma soul, at all.

"Noah!" Lenalee exclaimed, before noticing the look of shock on Allen's face."Allen?"

"That woman, is an Akuma, but the soul is so happy...Happy to be an Akuma?" Allen said, before shaking it off. Talisman smiled at them.

"Please refer to me as a male, I was before I willingly became an Akuma." He said. Tyki watched the trees whip their branches at Kanda, who decided to try again. "Noah-sama's, please follow me." And with that, he ran at a tree, leaping up as the branched crashed down. He grabbed the branch before it swung back up at a break-neck speed, launching him across the river. He hit the ground and rolled. Jasdero and Devitto clapped at that.

"Sweet moves man!" Devitto called.

"Yeah, hii! Sweet Moves!" Jasdero repeated.

"I'll go next." Tyki said, smiling like an idiot (a/n: In my world, he's like a teenage girl with too much energy. :/) And running forward. He mimicked Talisman's actions but landed on one foot with his arms spread out eagle style. Road followed, landing gracefully on one foot and waving to the Exorcists. Jasdero and Devitto crashed into the dirt, both ending up with a generous amount of grass in there mouths. Scar was the last person there. Sighing, he ran toward the tree, but didn't grab the branch, just stepped on it. When he was thrown into the air he curled into a ball and just slammed into the ground, leaving a small crater.

"Well, Exorcists, we'll see ya at the top! I know my way around here pretty well, so bye-bye!" Talisman exclaimed, waving to them cheerfully. He smiled again, turning on his heel and walking away. Soon the Noah were gone. Kanda growled.

"Dammit! We can't let them get ahead!" He was about ready to launch himself across, but was stopped by Lenalee, who grabbed his arm.

"Kanda, that Akuma really bothers me. According to Allen, it's soul was happy. That and remember what Lavi said when we were on the train?" Allen perked up at that.

"That's right! There were rumors about a monster that used to be a citizen of the village. A woman became a monster after her second husband's death." No one doubted that the akuma was the monster. Without another word, they crossed the stream.

* * *

"W-what?" Lavi stuttered, looking at the crying man in front of him. Jhonathan's large eyes were still closed.

"Save me. Please, Lavi, I don't know what to do. Please, help me." He said, sinking to the ground in despair. Lavi just stared, confused.

"What? I don't know what you mean...I-" Lavi was interupted by the return of Ryuu and Ace, who fell from the sky and landed next to him. Ryuu looked up and a flicker of anger appeared in her eyes, but was quickly covered by worry.

"Ghosty... no... Jhonny-san, what's wrong?" Ace asked, going over to him. Ryuu looked at him sadly.

"It's the same thing as always, isn't it? We need to save him, once we do he can return to the Black Order. We still haven't retrieved his Innocence..." Ryuu said. Hearing that, Lavi perked up and looked at the blue-haired girl.

"Could his innocence be the one here on the mountain?" Ryuu looked up at him.

"Are you talking about the crystal?" She asked. Ace blinked then shook her head.

"Jhonny-san is a crystal type exorcist. His innocence is in his blood." She stated. Jhonathan looked at her. Her face was steeled defensively. Ryuu nodded.

"Oh! Ace-chan! Speaking of that, I wanted to know if you wanted to try something? You see I made you a crown from the crystal and I have these gauntlets I made..." Ryuu trailed off wondering what Ace would say about her experiment.

"YAY! ACCESSORIES!" Ace said, smiling happily. Lavi was watching their interactions with interest.

"Ah...Ace-chan...Please." Ryuu held out a box and opened the lid. Inside was a green tiara obviously carved from a gemstone. "Ace-chan, it's made from the crystal, I thought that maybe I could channel some of my powers through this crystal, since it was the Innocence's origional residence. The gauntlets I made for me should be able to do so, since they're the same substance...this way, I can help you fight if you get in a bit of trouble..." Ace's eyes widened at the sight of it. Plucking it up gently, she turned to Jhonathan.

"Help me?" She asked, looking at the man. He stood and fixed the tiara so it was settled into her hair.

'He has a whole nother family here.' Lavi thought, watching. Ryuu nodded to Ace before turning to Jhonathan and holding out a different box. She smiled when he took it.

"What-?" He started, but his eyes dulled slightly and narrowed, sliding to the side. Ace noticed and looked at him.

"What is it?" She whispered fearfully. He turned his eyes back.

"Nothing." Ryuu smiled at him.

"Do you guys like it?" She asked,"Oh! I forgot! I made you something to, Lavi-kun! It's still on my workbench, if you want, I can get it for you now." Ryuu turned to Lavi as she spoke, and watched him look between the other two, both admiring their gifts. Lavi noticed the bracelet that was worn on the left wrist that Jhonathan had. It resembled a bracelet he'd worn before. It took him a moment to realize that Ryuu disappeared. She soon returned though, smiling at Lavi with her hands behind her back.

"Jhonny? Ace-chan? If you don't like them I can change them." She said this as she shoved a small box into Lavi's hands. He stared at it blankly.

"I like it! I'mma princess!" Ace said, puffing out her cheeks.

"It looks like my old bracelet." Jhonathan said, looking at it.

"Glad you like it!" Ryuu exclaimed, turning back to Lavi. "Well? Ya gonna open it?" They looked at him expectantly. Slowly Lavi opened it and pulled out a crystal carved in the shape of a book, hanging off a small silver chain. He just stared at it for a few moments before looking at the others. Their's was made of the same crystal.

"They're all from the same crystal..." Lavi said, staring.

"FINALLY! I can't believe we got here first!" Everyone whipped around to see who'd been talking. "AH! It's you!" Ace blinked as Tyki quickly grabbed her hands and grinned. "You're even prettier up close."

"Thank you. I get it from my mother. She's a skeletal hell warrior that will be unleashed when the apocalypse is upon us!" Ace said. The entire place just got creepier as a strange aura surrounded her.

"That's right, you have a dark disturbing past..."

"We all do." Ryuu said happily. The Noah all stare at her, before looking around the place.

"You, your the girl that disgiused herself as a boy!" Devitto exclaimed, pointing dramatically. Ryuu just nodded happily. Lavi gave her a questioning look.

"Your a crossdresser? I never would've guessed." Jhonathan cuffed Lavi on the back of the head with a gentle smile that was getting stressed.

"How rude." He said, his closed eyes twitching dangerously. Ryuu glared at Lavi and stuck her tongue out when Jhonathan wasn't looking. Lavi made a face in return. The two were continuing their game when the Exorcists caught up to them. Lenalee and Kanda looked at Jhonathan, who was currently battling with getting the two squabbling teens apart from each other while Ace was getting hugged by Tyki against her will.

"J-JHONATHAN!" The male looked up, only to be tackled in a hug by Kanda and Lenalee. He stared at them blankly, before his memory kicked in.

"Lenalee. Kanda. What are you doing here?" He asked. Road cleared her throat, and Talisman glanced at the group before growling at Lavi. Allen also stared at Lavi, but it was more relieved. Although Ryuu was currently preoccupied with getting Ace away from Tyki.

"We're here to find an Innocence! It's supposed to be here." Kanda replied.

"We're so glad your alive! We thought we'd never see you again!" Lenalee cried. Ryuu tried to stop the chaos, but failed. She sighed, and whistled loudly. Three large wolves, one of which was the one from earlier, landed in the middle of it all and howled, drawing the attention to them, Ryuu, Ace, and Lavi. Jhonathan struggled to his feet, pulling the two teens with him. He blinked when he saw that he now had to look up into Kanda's face.

"Okaa-sama?" Kanda asked, noticing how Jhonathan's eyes were all watery. Lenalee looked at him questioningly as he slid to the ground, his lip trembling.

"Oh my god, all my adorable little children are so big! Even Kanda-kun is taller than me!" He wailed into his hands. Everyone stared at him, even the wolves.

"Okay...Well, why are you all here?" Ryuu demanded, now supporting Lavi, who had started swaying dizzily. She did not like the look Talisman had on his face. Allen stepped forward and bowed to her.

"We are exorcists from the Black Order. We came to retrieve the Innocence located on this mountian and also for our friend." He stood and smiled at her, gesturing to Lavi before holding out his hand. "I'm Allen Walker. And the two hanging off your friend are Kanda Yuu, and Lenalee Lee." Ryuu took his hand.

"I'm Ryuu. That's Ace, and that's Jhonathan. These," She gestured to the wolves," are Amaroq, Silver, and Flare." She pointed at the black wolf, then a silvery wolf, and finally a bright red wolf.

"Hey! We were here first, brats!" Tyki said, huffing.

"YEAH!" Jasdero and Devitto exclaimed, pouting. "What makes you think you have any right to just come here and take the Innocence!" Something went flying and hit them in the faces. Jhonathan stood over the twins, who were sprawled out on the ground with a sadistic smile on his face.

"Pardon me, but just WHO are you calling brats?" He said, his smile twitching so that it cracked his lip. Road shook her head.

"We can't take the Innocence. The Earl said to retrieve the EXORCIST GIRL. At all costs. Sound familiar?" She said. She got a blank look from the Noah men. It was easy to see that they had completely forgotten.

"Wait. So your saying the Innocence already has an accomadator?" Lenalee asked. Road nodded before she realized who had spoken.

"Hii~! Maybe it's the pretty girl with the blue hair!"Jasdero said. Devitto nodded in agreement.

"Would be nice, huh? Of course I wouldn't mind the other girl either." Both smiled at each other, as if reading each others thoughts. For all the others knew, they were. Jhonathan did a sander attack(fling down on the face) on both of them. As an added bonus, he slammed his heels into their stomachs, and hooked his fingers in their noses, lifting them up until the blood started flowing down his arms.

"Jhonathan, please put them down. I need you to take Lavi-kun inside." Ryuu said. Lavi shook his head, ready to argue, but Ryuu ignored him. She handed him off to Jhonathan once the Mongolian had cleaned his hands. Allen tried to stop him, obviously worried about having his friend out of his sight.

"Please, sit." Ryuu said, as small flat platforms rose out of the ground. There were enough for everyone, and each was covered in a layer of soft, thick grass. Ace sat next to the other girl at the head of the group, the three wolves lying around the girls. The others hesitated, but sat down as well. Soon Jhonathan returned and sat on the opposite side of Ryuu. Jhonathan and Ace sat on either side of Ryuu, almost as though it was an arranged seating formation. Both of their faces were steeled into a serious expression. The exorcists took the left three seats, and the noah (and talisman and scar) took the right six seats.

"So, Exorcists. You say you've come for an Innocence and for your friend, Lavi?" Ryuu asked. All three gave a nod. She then turned to the Noah. "Noah, you've come for an Exorcist girl? I see your Earl does his research." The Noah nodded an afirmative. Talisman opened his mouth but was silenced by a glare from Ryuu."I know why YOUR here." Then to Ace. "Proceed, please Ace-chan." The blond woman nodded and cleared her throat.

"Both of you shall tell why you are here and exactly why each of your leaders wishes for the Innocence and Exorcists. We shall be questioning you on your motives and what you want to do once you have obtained said Innocence and Exorcists. YAY!" Ace smiled as she screamed yay, signalling the beginning of the meeting.

"Take off your mask." Jhonathan demanded, looking at the masked man with the Noah. He refused.

"Leave him be. Now Exorcists, state your reason." Ryuu said. Allen spoke.

"As I said when I introduced myself, we just came for the Innocence and for our friend." Allen said with a slight bow and a nervous smile. Ryuu nodded.

"If it you found the Innocence, what would you do with it?" She asked. Jhonathan looked like he wanted to answer so bad but bit on his lip to keep from stating it.

"We would bring it back to hq where it would be protected from the Noah and the Earl who can destroy innocence with their bare hands." Lenalee said, glaring at the Noah. Devitto jumped up.

"Hey! You shouldn't make us the bad guys!" He exclaimed, and was knocked to the ground by Amaroq, who snarled at him.

"Debi!" Jasdero exclaimed. Ryuu called the wolf back to her and ignored Devitto's cursing.

"If the Innocence had an accomadator, what then?"

"They would be trained to use it fight and become an exorcist." Kanda answered sternly, but he refused to look at anyone but Jhonathan. The normally smiling Mongol was emotionlessly sitting there, looking like a stone statue. Ryuu then asked what they hadn't expected.

"What if they were already well trained? Would they have to fight? Kill every Akuma that crossed their path?" She glanced at Talisman, although only the akuma, Ace, and Jhonathan noticed. "What about Jonathan?" They were taken a back by the question. Ace seemed to have matured almost instantly. She looked at them with harsh cold eyes.

"What exactly would you do if you met a friendly akuma? Or a friend that was brought back? What then?" She asked, sitting up straight.

"I-If they're friendly, you wouldn't hurt them. M-most of the time though, the akuma kill you so it's either kill or be killed." Allen said, trying not to anger them.

"What do you mean, "What about Jhonathan?"" Kanda snapped. There was a dark aura around the two girls.

"First off, you exorcists think friendly Akuma means Cross's modified Akuma. But I don't think I could kill every Akuma if I were an Exorcist. Second, Jhonathan's Innocence is dormant at the moment. Would you help him with the same effort we've been using or would you half-ass it?" Ryuu responded coldly, almost hatefully. They were all taken back at the tone she used. Jhonathan's head was bowed, his bangs falling into his face. He muttered something, almost inaudible to everyone but who he was sitting near. Ace blinked but looked at him with a saddened expression.

"What?" Lenalee asked. Everyone present was shocked at the way he looked. Tears formed rivers down his cheeks as he stood and looked at them.

"So I can't be an exorcist anymore. I hate you all. I HATE YOU!" He screamed, glaring at everyone present. He was seething all the while, his calm facade lost. "THIS ALL HAPPENED BECAUSE I DEFENDED THAT DAMNED TOWN. ALL BECAUSE MY DAMNED INNOCENCE COULDN'T HELP ME. GOD DAMMIT!"

"Look, just calm down." Tyki said, raising his hands in a gesture that was supposed to calm him down.

"Calm down? CALM DOWN? YOU KNOW WHAT, SHUT THE HELL UP! YOU'RE ONLY HERE BECAUSE THE EARL WANTS RYUU AND HER INNOCENCE WHEN WE ALL KNOW THAT INNOCENCE IS THE ONLY THING DANGEROUS TO NOAH! I'll bet the fucker only wants to use the ability it has to get the upper hand in the war! After all, he'd kill you all if you even TRIED to go against him!" Jhonathan yelled, jabbing Tyki in the chest angrily. Tyki, who didn't take too kindly to that, pushed Jhonathan. Ace gasped when her friend hit the ground, crying out in pain. A red liquid pooled around him, making him blink.

"W-what-" "You useless idiot." Ryuu's eyes darked as she let out an inhuman growl.

"You. Get. Away. From. Him." She growled. The Noah had retreated to the opposite end of the clearing and the Exorcists followed soon after. Talisman, however, stayed nearby. A woman stood there, wearing a skin tight bathing suit like thing covered by two long pieces of cloth held by a belt. She had long black hair and pale skin. Two sets of tattoos were on her cheeks, right below her eyes. Her eyes were black where the whites should've been and red on the irises. They were narrowed in a dangerous fashion while two large horns were on her head, going backwards.

"You're... Dead Raiser..." Jhonathan went to back up, but he was grabbed by the throat and lifted up by the woman. He clawed at her hands, trying to make her let go.

"HEY! LET HIM GO!" Lenalee yelled, running forward with Kanda close at her heels. Ace stopped them, giving them a cold stare.

"No." Ace looked to her fuming friend, although no one else could hear it, she could. 'Get away. Leave him be.' She didn't know how she could hear Ryuu, but she did. She knew the girl was losing her mind. That was proven as, when Jhonathan let out a choked cry, Ryuu lunged forward, knocking Dead raiser to the ground. She looked different though, gleaming gold wings and a long serpentine tail with a large black blade on it. If one looked closer they would see silver claws and fangs. Dead Raiser easily got herself out from under Ryuu, but was held still.

"Sonata: Binding cords." Ace stood there, her large ahoge's binding Dead Raiser firmly. Ryuu grabbed Jhonathan, and put him down infront of the cottage.

"Jhonny, get Lavi-kun into the 'basement'. I wish you had your Innocence right now, but I don't know what to do about it. I'm sorry I failed you." With that she turned to Ace. "Ace-chan! Let's try out the crystals!" Ace nodded, closing her eyes.

"Hi: Fire." The three strands of innocence turned to a steel like color before blazing with fire, traveling at the still bound woman. Jhonathan watched his friends. He wanted to help somehow. Any way possible. Kanda and Lenalee noticed him sitting there, muttering to himself while watching the fight. A flash and on his arm was his old innocence, although it flickered slightly before disappearing back under the skin.

"Crystal. He's a Crystal type exorcists." Lenalee said, watching. They stared at him for a moment before watching the fight.

"Great. Gauntlets activate!" Ryuu smashed her fists together and the gauntlets glowed green, just like Ace's tiara. Raising her hand in the air she pointed to the sky. "Dracos Electra!" A bolt of lightning shot into the sky and curved back around before disappearing into the gauntlet on the other arm. The bolt reappeared as it traveled through the tiara, and down the ahoge to shock Dead Raiser. Ace let go of her once the electricity hit Dead Raiser. The woman staggered but held her ground anyway.

"God's Blessing!" Dead Raiser turned, only to be hit with a metal covered fist. She skidded along the ground, before sitting up and touching a cross shaped indentation on her cheek. Jhonathan stood there, fist outstretched as though he'd just hit her. Ryuu smiled at him.

"Jhonathan...Is that your Innocence?" Ryuu said with a happy smile. Dead Raiser got up and made to attack Ryuu, but was stopped by Talisman.

"Third seal: Bind." Thin wires wrapped around Talisman's hand and extended to Dead Raiser's arm."Keep your hands off my daughter."

"LADY DEAD RAISER!" Scar abandoned his mask in order to get to Dead Raiser. The Noah followed him, seeing to as she was helping the Earl. He kicked Talisman harshly in the stomach before starting to work on the binds. Ryuu quickly went to Talisman's side, growling at Scar. Ace had gone to Jhonathan, checking to make sure his Innocence didn't hurt him. Two answers of I'm fine met each girl.

"Scar, you weren't originally Dead Raiser's servant." Scar looked at Jhonathan then stood and quickly went forward so he was only three feet away. "You had a family. They died, and you started killing people. You turned yourself into this, didn't you?"

"Hmph, like you should talk. After all, you're two thousand years to early to beat me." Jhonathan stared at him with the intent to kill. Scar returned the look with an equally insane look. Ryuu quickly stood between them.

"Friends of the Earl, leave now, you are no longer welcome here. I do not hate you, but your presence has caused unneeded violence. Go now before I use drastic actions." Ryuu said. It wasn't a suggestion, it was a demand. The look in her eyes was proof enough that it was best to listen.

"Fine by me!" Road groaned, grabbing Tyki's arm and beginning to pull her uncle through the door, ignoring his whines about wanting to bring Ace along. Jasdero and Devitto followed quickly, looking back at Talisman curiously. Said Akuma flipped them off while sticking his tongue out. They mimicked the action before disappearing. Scar helped a weakened Dead Raiser back, looking back to send a glare at Jhonathan.

"You'll wish you never did that, Ghosty. After all, Dead Raiser's the reason you're still here and she can DAMN well get rid of -" A rock slammed into his face.

"Shut the hell up. My name is Jhonathan, dumbass." He said, rolling is eyes in annoyance. Ryuu smiled at him, before collapsing to the ground. She sat on her knees, and sighed. The other Exorcists hurried over.

"Miss Ryuu! Are you okay?" Allen asked, looking worried. Ryuu nodded and smiled.

"We're sorry we didn't try to help you! We should've done something!" Lenalee exclaimed.

"It's fine," Ryuu said, looking at Kanda who was threatening Talisman. "Jhonathan, how do you feel? Is your Innocence back for good?"

"Dunno. My arm's a lot stronger than it used to be." He said, patting it. He didn't say anything but the skin of his arm parted to reveal a largg metallic claw with crosses on the fingers.

"Woah! That's your innocence!" Allen said, looking at it. "What's it called?"

"It doesn't have a name. I just call it God's Blessing." Jhonathan said, holding it with his other hand happily. Ryuu nodded. Talisman came to investigate.

"If you failed to use this before, why did it activate this time?" He asked, looking at it.

"You don't understand Innocence, your an Akuma." Ryuu said.

"Wah! Are you disowning me 'cause I'm a demon? You can't do that! I love you, don't disown me!" Talisman cried and latched onto Ryuu. She blush deeply and shoved him away.

"Oh, my innocence must've went dormant to help heal this." He said, smiling as he took off his dress like shirt. There, all over his body, was stitches, some opened up, some completely closed, others healed, and one or two infected. Lenalee's mouth hung open.

"Jhonathan...T-that looks horrible." Kanda stared as well, but as always, moved on to the next thing.

"What were those Noah doing here? Aside from the usual." He asked, glancing at Ryuu and Ace. Before he could get an answer Lavi walked out.

"Oi, what happened? I woke up inside and last I remember, I was out here." He looked around and saw Ryuu on the ground with Ace next to her. He made his way over and sat next to her. "You alright?" Ryuu looked up at him.

"Of course I am, baka. If I wasn't, I'd be dead." She responded with an annoyed look as she pretended to karate chop his head.

"Lavi!" Allen and Lenalee cried. Ace laughed and smiled like an imbecile.

"TEH FAIRIES ARE I LOVE WITH LAVI!" She yelled, falling backwards and laughing, saying 'I'mma princess!'. There was an akward silence after that as everyone stared at Ace. Ryuu looked to the ground.

"So what now?" She asked. Kanda replied with an irritated look.

"We take you three back to the Order." Ryuu looked back at the wolves.

"What about them?" She asked. Kanda glared.

"We are no-"

"Of course they can come!" Lavi exclaimed loudly, speaking over Kanda. Ryuu smiled.

"Oh, how exciting! I can't wait to see Jerry again! oh, and Marie and Daisya~! And the generals! Klaud and Winters and Froi! I don't wanna see Cross though. He can go die in a hole, the womanizing bastard!" Jhonathan rambled happily.

"I'm just glad Amaroq's family can come! Thanks Lavi-kun!" Ryuu exclaimed happily, hugging Lavi.

"Uh...Your welcome?" He laughed as Amaroq licked his face. Kanda came up behind him and hit him with Mugen's sheath.

"Don't make promises you can't keep, baka usagi. They won't allow wolves in the Order."

"They're wolfs, not wolves, yuu-yuu~!" Ace smiled, looking pleased with herself.

"Excuse me, HOW old are YOU?" "22."

"You really don't act like it," Lenalee said out loud.

"Well, they kinda have ta come. They're the only ones who can carry the crystal's remains." Ryuu explained. Kanda had a doubtful expression, so she decided to show them.

* * *

"That's the crystal, or what's left." Ryuu said pointing to a crystal twice the size on Jhonathan. Jhonathan wasn't paying much attention, trying to compare how tall Lavi was to his own height.

"Che." Kanda turned away, trying to ignore the fact that she was right.

"That's one big crystal. I see why you would need the wolves and...what are you doing?" Allen was watching Ryuu, who was crouched on the ground gathering crystals and other gems. She looked up.

"It's for the villagers. I figure I owe them since it's my fault the town went to hell." She said, smiling.

* * *

Read and review please?


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